Galatians 5:18
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law," Galatians 5:18. All through this epistle, Paul has stressed that justification is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, alone. Salvation is not partly grace and partly by keeping the law. It is not Jesus has done His part, now you must do yours. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified," Galatians 2:16. This Scripture is very plain. Yet there are those who will not believe it. Maybe they were raised with a false view of justification and they have a very hard time accepting what the bible actually says. To say the bible is right would mean that other people they love are wrong. No doubt many people struggle with this, but why would you let this blind you of the truth? Paul goes on to write in Galatians 3:11, "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith." "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith," Galatians 3:24. Justification is totally a working of God. We have nothing to boast in. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast," Ephesians 2:8-9. God saves us, He keeps us saved, and He empowers us to live for Him in this present evil world.
The law has never been able to deliver anyone from the penalty of sin, nor can the law deliver us from this body of death. It is a great joy knowing the Lord has saved us. This great assurance comes from the Scriptures, and produces peace in our lives. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Romans 5:1. There are also evidences in our lives that the Lord has saved us. Another word for evidences is fruit. As we have learned in the previous verses, our flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. There is a constant spiritual warfare going on. We have a choice to make every day; will we give in to the influences of the flesh, or will we tell it no, and give in to the influences of the Spirit? We all have a will, and are able to make choices, but all of our choices are influenced. As a Christian, will we make a choice to please the Lord, or our flesh? As we grow in the sanctification process, this war increases. This is why it is so important that we stay in the Scriptures. Let us look at Galatians 5:18.
"But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law," Galatians 5:18. In this verse, "ye be led" defined is to lead, induce, incite, guide. We know we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but He also guides us. He guides us according to the Scriptures. He will never guide us outside of the Scriptures, and He will never guide us contrary to the Scriptures. He illuminates the Scriptures to us, and the Scriptures are a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. The Holy Spirit is not a feeling or an emotion. He is the third Person of the Trinity. He does not guide us by feelings or emotions, but by the Word of God. So, if you want to be led of the Spirit, get in the Scriptures.
Before the Lord saved us, we were under the law of sin. We were under the rule of sin, or the dominion of sin. When the Lord saves us, He sets us free from that dominion, and there are evidences, or fruits, in our lives that we and others can see. We will see this when we look at verses 19-26 in the coming weeks. When we were lost, we were servants to sin. We served sin, and we loved it. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil," John 3:19.
Let us look at some verses in Romans 6. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are not ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord," Romans 6:11-23.
Christ has made us free from sin. He has liberated us from a state of calamity and death. We are no longer under the law of sin. Sin is no longer the rule, norm or standard of our actions. Sin no longer has dominion over us. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death," Romans 8:1-2. We whom the Lord has saved are no longer under the power or authority of sin. This is made manifest when we are guided by the Holy Spirit. The life we now live is for the honour and glory of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Now we can live for Jesus Christ; before we couldn't because we were bound by the law of sin. According to the Scriptures, has Jesus Christ saved your soul and delivered you from the law of sin? The life you live will be a good indicator. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
